Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center

WHO WE SERVE
Each year Renaissance serves over 1,500 very low-to-moderate income women and men start or grow their businesses who reflect the social, cultural, and economic diversity of the San Francisco Bay Area: 90% are low-to-moderate income; 72% are women; 75% are people of color; and nearly one in eight have disabilities, including people living with HIV/AIDS.

Our entrepreneurial programs are offered in both English and Spanish at our three locations: South of Market and Bayview/Hunters Point in San Francisco, and East Palo Alto on the mid-peninsula.

MISSION
The mission of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is to empower and increase the entrepreneurial capacities of socially and economically diverse women and men, and thereby strengthen our communities through the creation of sustainable new businesses, new jobs, and the promotion of financial self-sufficiency.

1985 - Renaissance launched with Business Planning classes to help very low-to- moderate income women and men start and grow their own small businesses. The organization grew steadily and added Introduction to Business and Advanced Business classes.

1997 - Renaissance purchased our own building at 275 Fifth Street, San Francisco and expanded our Incubator to house 14 emerging businesses and one commercial tenant.

2004 - Renaissance expanded Ren/BBRC to add a small business technology center.

2007 - Renaissance merged with Start Up, an East Palo Alto based micro-enterprise organization.

2008 - Renaissance completed a five-year strategic plan outlining its goals for organizational growth, and launched offsite programs in Daly City, San Rafael and Richmond, CA.

Since 1985... Renaissance has served 18,250 very low-to-moderate income women and men who have created and grown over 4,700 sustainable new businesses and over 10,550 new jobs!

Some of the awards and recognitions for Renaissance and its leadership:

* San Francisco Small Business Network's Organizational Small Business Advocate Award 2009
* Bank of America's Neighborhood Excellence Award 2008
* Most recently in 2009, Sharon Miller, CEO, received the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), San Francisco Chapter's Social Entrepreneur Award.

* Talking about your business idea feasibility: Attend our orientation, use our resources (http://www.rencenter.org) and take our training courses.

* Developing a business plan: Take our training courses and workshops (Start Your Own Business class, Business Planning class, marketing, finance and more)

* Taking your business to the next level with strategic planning, access to capital, specialized assistance (legal/financial/business) and affordable office space

* Getting connected to Renaissance's vibrant network of entrepreneurs and benefit from referrals, information, resources and advice: Business Roundtables, Online Network, Women's Business Support and more

We are a community of established training programs and holistic long-term support. Come join the community!

Main Office Address: 275 Fifth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103,

E-mail: info@rencenter.org

Phone: 415-541-8580

Fax: 415-541-8589

Website: http://www.rencenter.org
for more information about Renaissance, business resources, and our email newsletter sign-ups.